Canon EF 100 400mm F 4 5 5 6L IS II USM Review | 54 Data compared

The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens is praised as a significant upgrade, offering exceptional, prime-like sharpness across the zoom range, a robust 4-stop image stabilizer, and fast Ring USM autofocus. Its durable, weather-sealed construction and versatile twist-action zoom mechanism with improved minimum focusing distance make it a top-tier performer, though it carries a high price tag, is quite heavy, and has a maximum aperture that requires good light.

The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens receives high praise for its outstanding central sharpness, robust weather-sealed construction, and highly effective, rapid autofocus. A standout feature is the innovative zoom torque adjustment ring, which allows for customized zoom resistance, ensuring excellent handling throughout the range. While providing stellar optical quality, the lens is noted for its high cost and a slight, minor drop-off in edge resolution when used wide open at the 400mm setting. Despite these minor drawbacks, the lens is considered an exceptional, high-performance upgrade over its predecessor.

The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM II is described as a highly versatile, professional-grade telephoto zoom delivering prime-level sharpness across its range. Key advantages include an effective 4-stop Image Stabilization system with multiple modes, a smooth twist-ring zoom with tension adjustment, a 3.2-foot minimum focus distance for near-macro capability, and robust weather sealing. Drawbacks identified in the review include the relatively slow variable maximum aperture, which limits low-light autofocus performance compared to faster prime lenses. Furthermore, the lens is noted for its high cost and significant weight, though its superior optical performance is deemed to outweigh these considerations.

The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens delivers phenomenal, edge-to-edge sharpness and blistering autofocus speeds that easily match high-resolution sensors, overcoming the performance limitations of its predecessor. Tested heavily during a winter tour in Japan, it provides versatile 100–400mm framing on full-frame cameras and an impressive 160–640mm equivalent reach when paired with a crop-sensor camera like the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. Major design upgrades include an incredibly close minimum focus distance of just 0.98 meters (3.22 feet) for macro-style close-ups, an innovative filter-adjustment window on the lens hood, and a removable tripod mount foot. Its lightweight design makes prolonged handheld shooting effortless, while the built-in Zoom Touch Adjustment Ring offers convenient resistance control and prevents lens creep during transport. Despite its stellar field results, the lens introduces a few notable drawbacks, starting with its shift from a quick "pump-action" push-pull design to a traditional twist-to-zoom ring mechanism. This change requires an excessive amount of rotation to cover the full focal range, which can lead to missed shots due to mid-zoom hand repositioning. Minor barrel distortion and chromatic...

The Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM marks a significant improvement over its predecessor, boasting exceptional build quality and a highly efficient 4 EV optical image stabilization system that remedies the older model's weak 2 EV limit. Built with a solid magnesium composite casing and a metal bayonet mount, the lens features a 9-blade circular aperture, specialized Air Sphere Coatings to fight ghosting, and a complex optical construction of 21 elements including fluorite and low-dispersion Super UD glass. Its high-utility physical features include four body switches for stabilization modes (standard, panning, and exposure only) and focus limits, an ultra-wide 77 mm zoom ring, and a 31 mm manual focus ring with a broad 220-degree rotation angle for precise adjustments. A major pro of this lens is its class-leading, noticeably short minimum focusing distance which prevails over both its predecessor and modern rivals from Nikon, Sony, and Sigma. Additionally, it features a unique "Smooth-Tight" drag control ring carried over from the older "pump" style version to regulate zoom ring friction. However, the lens does have a few cons. Due...

The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM is an outstanding telezoom lens offering incredibly sharp optics, robust optical stabilization, and quick autofocus tracking. It features a relatively compact design for its reach and provides excellent versatility for nature photographers with a 1:3 macro magnification ratio. However, the lens is quite pricey at roughly $2,200 and exhibits some barrel distortion at the 100mm wide end, notes the PCMag review. Despite the lens extending when zooming, it maintains solid dust and water resistance.

Comprehensive Overview The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM is a thoroughly redesigned, weather-sealed telephoto lens that updates its 1998 predecessor to meet high-resolution digital sensor demands. Scoring 21 points on a 22-megapixel full-frame sensor, it delivers high baseline sharpness across its entire zoom range, very low lateral chromatic aberration, excellent vignetting control, and a modern two-ring design that replaces the old push-pull mechanism. Key specifications include a complex optical formula of 21 elements in 16 groups—incorporating a single fluorite and Super ED glass element—alongside an upgraded 4-stop optical stabilizer and Canon’s nano-tech Air Sphere Coating (ASC) to reduce flare. Weighing 3.5 lbs (1640g) and priced around $2,200 USD at release, this premium lens targets serious sports and wildlife photographers who value robust build quality and consistent performance. Pros and Cons Pros: Uniform frame sharpness across the zoom range, notably improving edge-to-edge resolution over the older model. Pros: Highly effective 4-stop optical stabilization and advanced ASC/fluorine coatings to prevent ghosting, water smears, and debris buildup. Pros: Drastically reduced chromatic aberration and improved light transmission compared to its predecessor. Cons:...

The DPReview review of the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM highlights a superior, modernized redesign featuring a rotating zoom mechanism, best-in-class sharpness, and a minimum focus distance halved to 3.2 feet. While receiving a Gold Award for excellent image stabilization and autofocus, limitations include a 9% heavier build compared to the predecessor and moderate barrel distortion/vignetting at the 100mm setting.

Despite its stellar performance, the lens exhibits notable flaws, particularly when paired with full-frame camera bodies. Heavy vignetting is present throughout the focal range, becoming particularly offensive at 300–400mm when shooting wide open, which necessitates post-processing correction profiles. Physical design drawbacks include a relatively small tripod plate that hinders easy carrying, and a focus distance window positioned so close to the lens mount that it can be partially obscured by a DSLR's viewfinder hump. Photographers must also ensure their camera firmware is up to date, as older versions can cause autofocus failures when using the lens with a 1.4x teleconverter.

The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM is a pro-grade super-telephoto zoom lens designed for sports, action, and wildlife photography. A major design improvement over its predecessor is the replacement of the outdated trombone-style push/pull mechanism with a standard twist-action zoom ring, which features an adjustable friction damper to eliminate zoom creep. Optically, the lens integrates top-tier fluorite and Super UD glass elements, alongside Air Sphere Coating (ASC) to eliminate ghosting and flare. Performance-wise, it boasts a highly rapid, whisper-quiet ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system and an advanced 4-stop, triple-mode image stabilizer. Lab tests confirm fabulous center-sharpness and very good edge-sharpness across the zoom range, with only slight barrel distortion at the wide end and mild pincushion distortion at the long end. The lens has distinct advantages and drawbacks. On the positive side, its main pros include a powerful telephoto zoom range, an upgraded 3-mode, 4-stop image stabilization system, and exceptional pro-level build quality that includes weather sealing. On the negative side, its main cons are its high retail price and its quite heavy weight at 1,640g. Additionally, performance testing...

This review confirms that despite being released in 2014, the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens remains highly relevant and capable for wildlife photography, especially when paired with modern mirrorless cameras via an EF-EOS R adapter. The lens is highly praised for its rugged, weather-sealed L-series build quality, customisable three-mode image stabilisation offering up to 4 stops of compensation, and its impressive close-focusing distance of 0.98 metres. Optically, it excels by delivering pin-sharp image quality, smooth background bokeh from its 9-bladed diaphragm, and excellent low-light performance at a usable f/5.6 aperture when wide open at 400mm. Its optical performance is even noted to be on par with the newer RF 100-500mm lens while providing nearly an extra stop of light. Additionally, because Canon Japan officially discontinued the lens in April 2026, it can now be picked up as a massive bargain on the secondhand market, with "excellent" copies costing around £1,049 and "good" copies near £800 at retailers like Wex Photo Video. However, the reviewer highlights several notable drawbacks to consider. Weighing 1,640 grams, the lens is quite...

The lens excels in several key areas but carries a few notable drawbacks. Pros include its exceptional build quality that mirrors expensive prime lenses, highly effective flare suppression, and an innovative zoom touch adjustment ring that safely increases friction to hold any arbitrary focal length securely. The removable tripod foot profile and the smart polarizer window on the hood add exceptional real-world utility. On the downside, cons include its slow maximum variable aperture of f/4.5-5.6, which necessitates shooting at higher ISOs or slower shutter speeds in poor lighting. It is also slightly heavier (3.5 lbs / 1570g) and larger than its predecessor. Additionally, it is absolutely not a parfocal design, meaning users will experience significant focus shifts and must refocus whenever they alter the zoom. Finally, the focus ring is placed close to the tripod collar at the rear, which can make it somewhat awkward to access when hand-holding the lens.

This review shows that the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II is an exceptionally robust, versatile, and high-quality telephoto lens that fixes many flaws of the first-generation model. The reviewer praises its highly engineered build with weather sealing, a modern 4-stop image stabilizer with three distinct modes, and a fast, accurate autofocus system. Its standout features include a standard 77mm filter thread, a smart lens hood window for adjusting polarizing filters, and an innovative "Smooth to Tight" ring that prevents zoom creep. Most notably, it offers a remarkably close minimum focusing distance of 3.5 feet and a 0.31x magnification that allows for macro-style shooting. Optically, it delivers prime-like sharpness across the entire zoom range, showing almost no chromatic aberration, minor distortion, and smooth bokeh. Despite its high marks, the lens has a few notable downsides. At $2,199, its price tag is high compared to third-party options from Tamron and Sigma. Its autofocus slows down dramatically in dim or poor lighting conditions. Furthermore, while the lens is heavily optimized for extenders, full autofocus with a Canon 1.4x extender (which reaches a...